In a ruling based on a landmark civil rights law, the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a $400,000 damages award against a North Portland bar that turned away a group of transgender patrons.

Bar owner Chris Penner had challenged a Bureau of Labor and Industries finding that he had illegally discriminated against Rose City T-Club members when he asked them to not come back to his establishment because he didn't want it known as a "tranny bar" or "gay bar."

The appellate court upheld the labor bureau's 2013 findings that Penner had denied the group equal accommodations on account of their sexual orientation in violation of the Oregon Equality Act of 2007. The court also dismissed Penner's argument that his free speech rights had been violated. Read More via Oregon Live